The inevitable Al Horford retirement isn’t the most important for Celtics

It’s no secret that Al Horford is going to lace up his sneakers sometime in the near future. The veteran big man just won his first championship and has cemented himself in Boston Celtics lore. But Boston is already preparing for his inevitable retirement.

In the past few months alone, the Celtics have brought in two guys who could fill a similar role to Horford’s: Xavier Tillman and Anton Watson. Tillman played important minutes in the NBA Finals, and the Gonzaga rookie looked very promising in Summer League.

Celtics should be more worried about Jrue Holiday retirement than Al Horford

The Celtics have already put a few measures in place for when Horford retires, but what about Jrue Holiday? He just inked a four-year extension in Boston, but he’s already 34 years old. Even if he plays out the contract, he’ll be 38 by the end of it.

By the time he’s 38 years old, Holiday almost certainly won’t be the same player he is now, and there’s a chance he could retire before his deal expires.

Boston has already thrown a dart at the board in Jaden Springer, but in the next few years, they should be actively looking to create a guard pipeline behind Holiday. Derrick White will hold down the fort, but even he’s going to be 34 by the time their extensions are done.

Whenever anyone takes a gander at Boston’s roster, Horford’s retirement plan is the first thing they think of. How will the Celtics fill the void? Will Kristaps Porzingis stay healthy enough to replace him?

In reality, while none of the guys they have on board look like future stars, the Celtics have a bunch of big man depth. In addition to Tillman and Watson, they have both Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta ready to earn more minutes.

But at the guard position, they have just Holiday, White, Payton Pritchard, and Springer. That’s it. Baylor Scheierman can handle the ball, but he’s not quick enough to keep up with ones and twos on the defensive end just yet.

If Boston is truly committed to helping Tatum and Brown compete for as many titles as possible for years to come, they need to start adding some young guards in hopes of getting one to pop.

Maintaing the Celtics' current level of greatness may prove to be impossible, but ensuring that their guard room remains stacked is essential to that dream.